The European Union (EU) Delegation to the Philippines led by Ambassador Guy Ledoux visited the Keppel Subic Shipyard on February 20, 2014 to witness the ongoing fabrication activities of Malampaya Phase 3’s Depletion Compression Platform.

Senior Shell leaders joined by joint venture partners and the Keppel Subic management team welcome the European Union Delegation to the Philippines at the Keppel Subic Shipyard.

A Pioneer in Innovation

The Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project is a first in Philippine history—an innovation that heralded the birth of the country’s natural gas industry and gas technology that supports energy security for the Filipino people.

Its next stages of development, Malampaya Phase 3 (MP3)’s additional gas platform together with Malampaya Phase 2 (MP2)’s additional gas wells, will maintain the current level of gas production from the deepwater reservoir located northwest off Palawan, which is equivalent to 2700 MW of power. For the MP3 Project, its scale required the use of a 1,500T gantry crane, the largest in Southeast Asia that has been built at the Keppel Subic Shipyard to support MP3 fabrication and assembly activities.

Nathan Stephenson, MP3 Company Site Representative, tours the EU Delegation around the Keppel Subic Shipyard –site of ongoing fabrication activities for Malampaya’s second gas platform.

European Union Delegation joined by senior Shell leaders, its joint venture partners and the Keppel Subic management team take their picture in front the largest gantry crane in Southeast Asia.

European Union Delegation to the Philippines at the Keppel Subic Shipyard

Ambassador Ledoux was joined by Italian Ambassador Massimo Roscigno, Belgi an Ambassador Roland Van Remoortele, Austrian Ambassador Josef Muellner, French Embassy Commercial Office (UBIFRANCE) Country Director Marie-Jose Connan, together with diplomats from the UE delegation and other EU member countries. Delegates of the European Union were received by senior Shell leaders and joined by joint venture partners and the Keppel Subic management team. Shell Philippines Exploration, B.V. (SPEX) Managing Director Sebastian Quiniones gave an overview of the pioneering Malampaya Gas Project while Project Manager Antoine Bliek gave a briefing about the Malampaya Phases 2 and 3. The yard tour which followed the presentation was the highlight of the event where they visited key fabrication areas such as the Grand Assembly Area, Intermediate Dock Gate and Exotic Pipe Shop.

Ambassdor Ledoux thanked Shell, its joint venture partners and the Keppel team for the warm welcome and said “It is great to see the complex technology of this Malampaya Phase 3 platform. Several European companies are involved in this endeavor that promises to secure an important source of revenue for the Philippine people while creating new jobs for well-trained Filipinos in their own country.”

SPEX Managing Director Sebastian Quiniones said, “We are happy to welcome the European Union delegates to the Malampaya Phase 3 Fabrication Yard and showcase a technological innovation where a gas platform is being built for the first time in the country. The relationship between the European Union and the Philippines has been a longstanding one and we are positive that this partnership will continue to broaden and deepen our ties and help each other progress as nations. Together, we can power progress together.”

The EU Delegation’s visit to the Keppel Subic Shipyard is published in major newspapers including the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Manila Bulletin.

A Private-Public Partnership

The Malampaya Gas Project has become one of the most successful private-public partnerships in the Philippines since it started operations in 2001. The Gas Project has not only provided thousands of jobs for Filipino high-skilled workers, but also enhances capability to become at par with international oil and gas industry standards, powers 30% of the Philippines’ electricity needs, provides a stable supply of indigenous, cleaner-burning natural gas that reduced the country’s reliance on oil imports and has generated government revenues of PHP 24 billion (€ 4 billion) to date.

The Malampaya Gas Project remains one of the largest and most significant industrial endeavors made possible by a successful private-public partnership. Malampaya is spearheaded by the Philippine Department of Energy and operated and developed by Shell Philippines Exploration, B.V. (SPEX) on behalf of Joint Venture Partners Chevron Malampaya LLC and Philippine National Oil Company – Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC).

SPEX is the upstream operating company of Shell in the Philippines that uses expertise drawn from an extensive global experience in deepwater technology and oil and gas technology, exploration and production, and works to deliver cleaner energy in ways that are socially and environmentally responsible. Shell, as a global leader in power, energy, and gas technology, is working to meet increasing energy demand and supply challenges by delivering smarter products and cleaner energy, smarter infrastructure, promoting smarter use and by developing new energy sources while addressing the impact on the environment, through advanced fuels and lubricants technology and unlocking sources of cleaner burning-natural gas.